Sexuality: Tools
Continuing Gerontological Education Cooperative, Ontario, Canada
This guide will assist residential aged-care services to develop a resident-oriented policy that will balance resident’s rights with mission and goals of the organisation.
Guidelines for working out consent to sexual relationships
In the SADA report [PDF], the greatest concern expressed by both managers and support workers was how to work out if a resident has consented to a sexual relationship – particularly those with dementia or intellectual disability.
Answering the following questions may help to decide if a person has consented to a sexual relationship:
- Does the person know that it is wrong to force someone else to have sex or to touch someone else when they do not want it?
- Does the person know both people should enjoy sexual contact?
- Why does the person or a partner accept touching and sex?
Other issues to consider if assessing a person's ability to consent:
- How does the person consent to other activities or processes in their life?
- What is the person’s understanding of sexual activity?
- How does the person makes choices in their life and the what is quality of those choices?
- How does the person communicates their choices? Are they are to reliably say "Yes" or "No"?
- Is there a significant imbalance of power in the relationship?
Consent
In New South Wales, the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual sex is 16.
Consent means that a person freely and voluntarily agrees to sex. Consent must not be obtained by force or by threats to that person or any other person.